The Acoustic Sessions

Production is such an essential element to the hits of Florida Georgia Line that their 2012 breakthrough single, Cruise, turned into a hit a second time when it was remixed to feature the rapper Nelly. Subsequent singles didnt highlight their hip-hop connection quite so heavily, but each of FGLs records were coated in modern digital gloss, a production style that helped keep them at the top of the charts throughout the 2010s. Because of their reliance on aural tricks, it would be easy to think of Florida Georgia Line as a creation of the studio, a notion that Acoustic Sessions seeks to puncture. Delivered in the waning months of 2019, Acoustic Sessions finds Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley revisiting 17 of their songs, including all their greatest hits. All the trickery has been stripped away, but its hard to call something this crisp and clean raw; theyre merely highly polished studio renditions of familiar tunes, not rearranged reimaginations. Thats not a surprise, necessarily. Slickness is a trait that defines Florida Georgia Line, and it serves them well on Acoustic Sessions, helping these versions glide by with ease. If these acoustic renditions dont differ greatly from the hits, they do reveal how sturdily constructed the songs are, and that helps make Acoustic Sessions more than just a gift for fans. By illustrating that Florida Georgia Line have performing and writing chops, it helps put their decade of success in perspective. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine